Music In The Background
by AndyElizabeth
Summary: Andy finds herself at Sam's after Luke disappoints her once again, but this time all she really needs is a friend and an action movie.
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: This is an idea I've had sitting running around in my brain for a long time, so I'm just testing it out to see how it goes. It starts at the end of 2x06, and we're going to pretend that Jo never got hit in the head with the towel rack so Andy won't get in trouble for leaving. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

* * *

"I'm not accusing you of anything Luke, I'm just asking you if anything happened"

My voice sounded cold and accusatory, even to my own ears. After confronting Jo at the hotel the only thing I could think to do was go home and talk to Luke. I tried to make myself think of other things on the way over, in an attempt not to jump to conclusions but standing here in our living room, in OUR house, I was allowing myself to jump to any damn conclusion I wanted.

"Luke, whatever you tell me I'll believe you, so I need you to tell me the truth"

After I saw the matches everything went to hell. I'd stormed out of the hotel room and had just kept going until I reached the house, desperate for answers I wasn't going to get from Jo.

"Andy, I..."

He looked like he was about to cry, and the truth was written all over his face, but I needed to hear him say it. I deserved it.

"I'm so sorry" he finished.

I stared at him for a moment, trying to register what he'd just admitted to.

Then I slapped him.

I walked out of the house without even looking back. I was planning on going to Tracy's but I just kept on walking until I reached that familiar door. I took a deep breath and then I knocked. It barely took him a moment to answer the door.

"McNally? What the...?" I cut him off before he could go any further.

"Hi! I just happened to be in the neighbourhood and I remembered that I forgot my keys today and I was wondering if maybe I could just stay here for a little bit until Luke gets home… "

I hated even saying Luke's name, but he wouldn't believe me otherwise and there was no way I could tell him what really happened and I really just wanted to be near him.

"Sure, c'mon in... I was just sitting down to watch a movie." He was looking at me strangely but he didn't ask any questions.

I walked in, kicked off my shoes and headed towards the living room. He followed me and then pointed me towards the couch. I sat down and crossed one leg over the other. He sat down on the other end of the couch.

"Any preferences?"

"Something with a lot of death and destruction...And Bradley Cooper"

"Are you feeling okay McNally? Last I checked you were a Pride and Predjudice kind of girl..."

I laughed out loud at the fact that he remembered that conversation.

"People change" I smiled at him.

"Alright, death and destruction it is then, but I can't promise that I've got anything with Bradley Cooper..."

He walked over to the movies and pulled out a DVD.

"Sure you aren't feeling more like a having a Bridget Jones evening McNally?"

I threw a pillow at him. He ducked, laughing at me.

"Fine, the Matrix it is..."

"A classic, good choice" I smiled.

He popped the movie in the DVD player and then sat down on the sofa beside me.

"Why do you have a Bridget Jones movie anyway?"

" Sarah likes to give me gifts that'll keep me entertained while I'm undercover. She thinks she's funny."

I smiled as the familiar green numbers started to roll across the screen.

"She definitely is." I said, keep my eyes on the screen.

Keanu Reeves popped up on the screen, and I could feel him smiling at me as I stared at the TV and prayed that I would make it through the entire movie without bursting into tears.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews, it was crazy exciting to see them popping up in my email! Here goes Chapter 2, I hope you enjoy it and that it isn't at all what you're expecting!

_P.S. The italics are Andy's thoughts._

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue.

* * *

Andy McNally woke up to blinding sunbeams. She attempted to roll over and shield her eyes from the light and promptly found herself on the floor... On a carpet that did not belong to her.

_Oh boy…_

"Andy, everything okay in there?"

At the sound of someone's voice her brain quickly started trying to process.

_Oh dear lord,this cannot be happening. What even happened last night? My feels memory is a little fuzzy and there are little men doing construction inside my brain. Deep breaths Andy, just do a chain of events, like you do when you lose your keys. Okay, I left the house-that's all I'm going to remember about that- went to Sam's, watched the Matrix, then watched Men in Black, had a couple of beers with Sam. Oh god. Picked up the phone, called a..._

"CALLED A CAB!" She yelled triumphantly.

"Andy, I'm coming in sweetheart" said a voice that Andy could now clearly distinguish as Traci's.

"Trace, thank-god it's you..." She said with a smile.

"As opposed to..." Traci countered.

Andy stared at the things Traci was carrying in her hands.

"As opposed to someone without Advil and a glass of water?" She responded lamely.

Traci didn't look impressed. "Good try Andy."

Andy groaned and took the water from her as she climbed back up onto the bed.

" Wanna tell me what happened last night?"

Andy shook her head.

"Too late. Andy McNally you are in my bed, taking my Advil so spill"

She took a deep breath, trying to remember the story she'd told Sam last night.

" I forgot my keys, and I just happened to be in Sam's neighbourhood, and I thought maybe we could hang out for a bit and then it got pretty late and we got a little drunk and I figured I probably shouldn't stay so I called a cab... " She paused as realization dawned on her.

"Omigosh Trace, I didn't just show up in the middle of the night did I?"

Traci smiled. "Nope, you called first and I told you that Leo was at his dad's and you could without a doubt come stay the night, don't worry."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, before you hung up Swarek took the phone and asked me if he should call you a cab or a hambulance. That made it all worth it."

Andy laughed. Clearly Sam was going to remember as much about last night as she did. Which wasn't a whole lot. Her phone started ringing on the bedside and Traci made a grab for it and checked the caller id.

"Need a minute?" She asked, holding the phone up so that Andy could see Luke's name on the screen.

"Ya thanks Trace, he'll probably be wondering where I was last night."

Traci opened her mouth like she was about to say something and then closed it again, settling for a mildly disapproving sigh. She left the room and Andy picked up the phone.

"Andy? Hello? Are you there? Please don't hang up, I'm so sorry just give me a cha-"

She pressed the end button to stop the sound of his voice.

"If you'd wanted to talk you shouldn't have slept with somebody else Luke" She said to the blank screen screen.

The phone lit up again, and she decided to just turn it off.

" I've handled a whole lot of things in my lifetime, but I don't want to handle this. Not right now." She said quietly to herself.

"Hey Traci, remember the last time I had a hangover and you made those delicious pancakes?" She called downstairs.

" Not a chance Andy, get down here and get coffee, we've got parade in half an hour!"

_Half an hour? _

Andy shot up out of bed, and then quickly fell back into it when the room did a 180.

_Crap. It is going to be a seriously long day…_


	3. Chapter 3

_Omingoodness, could I have waited any longer to upload this chapter? I wrote it and then completely forgot about it. I hope you guys are enjoying where the story is going, but let's be honest, after the brilliant writing that was 3x07 nothing can really compare._

_P.S. In my imagination, when they pull over it's kind of a country style back road, maybe off a mostly deserted highway, something like that. Plausible? Maybe not... But who am I to argue with my imagination._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue, but oh, how I wish I did._

* * *

Sam Swarek was not looking forward to work. He loved his job, he really did, but on days like this all he wanted to do was throw the damn alarm clock out the window and get a few more hours of sleep. His mouth was dry, his head was aching, and he needed to be at work in twenty minutes.

"What the hell happened last night?" He grumbled to himself, trying to drag his body out of bed.

"Shit" he swore as it all came back to him, and he nearly gave himself whiplash as he swung his head around to the other side of the bed, to make sure one beautiful doe eyed rookie wasn't sleeping there. He saw the bed was empty and breathed a sigh of relief, he knew her well enough to know she would have been so angry at herself if she'd cheated on Luke, however much of an asshole Sam thought he was. He tried to shake his head to clear away the niggling feeling of disappointment that came with his relief, and then groaned when he felt the full force of his hangover. This was going to be a seriously long day.

* * *

She saw him heading into the station, and instead of calling out his name like she normally would have done, she pretended to hunt for something in the bag at her feet, feeling a little nauseous at the sudden movement.

"Hey Andy?" Traci said, after she'd parked and Andy still had her head crammed in her duffel bag.

"Mhhm?"

"You're going to have to talk to him you know."

"Who?" Andy replied, trying to look confused.

Traci just raised her eyebrows.

"Fine, I know I just.. I just don't know what I'm supposed to say okay? 'Sorry I just randomly showed up at your house last night, but can we just pretend it never happened?' Probably isn't going to cut it Trace." Andy looked at her friend expectantly.

"You can't know until you talk to him Andy." Traci smiled, climbing out of the car.

"But I-"

"Get outta the car, we're going to be late for work." She shut the door and started heading towards the station.

"Trace…Hey Traci, wait!"

* * *

They'd been driving for fifteen minutes, and either of them had yet to speak. Sam knew he should probably say something, but for the life of him he couldn't think of what, so he thought it would be better to just stay silent. Plus, even after two Advil and two cups of coffee, his head still felt like a construction site, so he wasn't exactly opposed to the silence.

"Sam…Can we talk?" She asked suddenly, but Sam knew she'd been thinking about since she'd gotten in the car, he could see the gears turning in her mind.

"You just couldn't handle the silence, could you McNally?"

"That's not funny. It's about last night."

"You mean last night when you showed up at my house, got me drunk and then tried to seduce me?"

"Yes, about last night when I show- wait, I did what?"

Sam chuckled, but he when he turned to look at her he could've sworn she actually looked a little green.

"Only kidding, McNally. You were a perfect lady, except for when you started dancing on my coffee table…"

"Please tell me you're joking." She said as she slouched down in her seat.

"Not even a little bit…" Sam smiled fondly at the memory of her on his coffee table dancing to an ABBA cd that she'd found behind the stereo, another one of Sarah's gifts.

"Sam… pull over." She said, jerking him out of his reverie.

"You alright there McNally?" He said, pulling onto the shoulder.

" No, not even a little bit" She said sarcastically, before jumping out of the cruiser, going a couple feet and then doubling over.

"Crap, Andy are you-" Sam said getting out of the car.

"Swarek, I swear to God if you come one step closer…"

Sam was going to completely ignore her, but then he realized what was going on and headed around to the trunk to see if he could find a water bottle and possibly a couple of tissues.

He was pulling them out just as Andy came walking back over, and held them out to her.

"Somebody clearly can't hold their liquor." He smiled.

"Shut up."

"C'mon McNally, let's have a seat" He said, guiding her towards the open passenger door.

She sat with her legs dangling out of the cruiser, and he leant against it watching her as she took small sips of water.

"What?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Nothing, I just-" He bent over to sweep her bangs out of her eyes and then just let his hand rest on her cheek after he'd tucked the hair behind her ear.

She closed her eyes for a moment and then quickly opened them again.

"Sam I- " She paused.

"Crap. I need to throw up again."

* * *

_Isn't she just classy with a K? Hope you liked it! __I promise to update sometime in the **near** future this time!_


	4. Chapter 4

_This chapter almost wrote itself, the characters just told me where they wanted to go. It's a little bit of a filler chapter, the calm before the storm if you wish, because even Andy McNally can't outrun her problems. I hope you like it, and thanks a bundle for the reviews, they make me smile._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue. _

* * *

After Andy had finished successfully evacuating the contents of her stomach onto the side of the road, the rest of shift had been rather uneventful. Sam had stopped into a convenience store to grab her some Gravol, which had lessened her nausea but done nothing for her shame.

"I'm sorry again, about the.. you know" She said, making vomit motions with her hands as they pulled into the parking lot.

"McNally, if you apologize one more time I swear_ I_ might puke."

"I know, I just...I'm so sor-"

Sam cut her off with a look before she could finish.

"McNally, it wasn't a big deal."

Andy threw her hands up in the air, frustrated at the response that she'd heard each of the twenty times she'd apologized that day.

"Yes _Officer _Swarek, it was a big deal. It _is _a big deal! I showed up to shift hungover and I made you stop the car so that I could throw up! What would have happened if you'd needed backup or something and I couldn't handle it because I was too busy TOSSING MY COOKIES?"

"Tossing your cookies, really McNally?"

"Sam it isn't funny. It was completely irresponsible and a total rookie move, so why won't you stop saying that its fine and just reprimand me for it!"

"Like you're already not reprimanding yourself enough already?"

"Sam…"

"McNally, you made a mistake. It happens. Now get out of my car so I can get home and get to bed. You're not the only one with a hangover you know."

"But I-…"

"McNally…" He said, in a warning tone.

"Fine, whatever." She said, getting out of the car and closing the door with a little more force than necessary.

The slam made Sam's head hurt, he really needed a couple more Advil. He knew he should have reprimanded her… Hell, if it had been any other rookie he probably would have driven them straight back to the station and handed them over to Frank, but he just couldn't do that to her. He didn't really want her to get in trouble, but more than that, he didn't want her to feel guilty for the night before. It was his coffee table she'd been dancing on…

"Shit" He swore, for the second time that day. His head still hurt, they never really got a chance to talk about last night, and although he would never admit it to himself, Sam Swarek had just let his feelings interfere with his job.

* * *

Traci walked into the locker room and just stood and watched Andy for a minute. After Andy had slammed her locker door open, slammed her duffel onto the bench and then slammed the door shut again, Traci thought she should intervene before someone got hurt. Namely the locker.

"So I'm guessing your day went pretty well…"

Andy looked up from her little rampage, saw Traci and then flopped down onto the bench beside her duffel bag.

"Oh ya, it was just fantastic Trace." She sighed, putting her head in her hands.

"What happened?" Traci asked, moving to sit next to her friend. Andy just sat there in silence.

"Andy?"

"I barfed."

"You what?"

"I barfed Traci. On patrol. I had Sam pull over so that I could throw up."

"Oh…" Traci murmured, trying to hold back a giggle.

Andy looked up from her hands.

"Traci! This is so not funny."

" I know, but it kinda is…"

Andy glared at her friend.

"Maybe just a little?" Traci asked with a smile.

" Fine." Andy conceded, "Maybe a little." She smiled back at Traci.

"But then Swarek wouldn't yell at me for it. He told me that it was fine, and it was like he actually meant it! It wasn't all training-officer-voice-it's-fine, it was like…"

"Like it was actually fine?" Traci finished.

"Exactly!"

Traci sighed, Andy was a good cop but sometimes she just didn't have a clue.

"Andy, maybe he said it was fine since a couple hours ago you two were _together _getting drunk?"

" I know, but he was fine! He didn't need to feel guilty!"

"Maybe he just didn't want you to feel like you shouldn't come to him if you need something."

"Traci, I wouldn't stop going to him for help just because he yelled at me once..."

Traci paused, trying to be subtle but hoping Andy might get it.

"Maybe he didn't want to take that chance."

Andy looked at her for a moment, then blew the air out of her mouth, causing her bangs to flutter.

"Ya, I guess I get it Trace" She said gathering up her duffel bag and heading for the door. "Thanks for the talk, I needed it. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Traci smiled. "Yep, see you tomorrow."

Traci watched the locker room door close and then stood up to start gathering her things out of her locker.

She sighed, "No Andy, I don't think you get it. I don't think you get it at all."

* * *

Andy was out of the locker room and halfway down the hall before she realized she didn't know where she was going.

"Crap" She said, turning around to go see if Traci could give her a ride, then swinging back around in the direction she'd been headed when she realized that she couldn't ask Traci for a ride because then she'd know that something was up with her and Luke.

_Damnit, Luke! _ She thought, realizing with the whole Sam debacle it was the first time she'd really thought about him since arriving at work.

"Impressive McNally, you clearly know how to prioritize" She muttered to herself sarcastically, trying to quell the nausea in her stomach that had nothing to do with her hangover.

_Luke and Joe…_

"Do you make a habit of talking to yourself in empty hallways McNally?"

"Do you make a habit of interrupting people when they're in the middle of their own personal thoughts Swarek?"

"You don't have personal thoughts McNally, everything you think, you say. It's part of your charm. And the lack of a brain to mouth filter."

"Oh believe me, I'm not saying a lot of the things I'm thinking about you right now…"

Sam chuckled, then looked at her.

" About earlier, you know-"

"Sam, it's fine. I don't know what I was so upset about. You didn't want to yell at me, I should have been happy about that, not getting mad at you for it." She said, starting to walk past him.

"Alright." He moved to the side so she could pass.

"Andy?"

She stopped walking, "Ya?"

"I saw you coming in with Traci this morning, did you need a ride home or something?"

She blushed, remembering how she'd attempted to hide for him.

"I came in with Traci because I'd spent the night at her place. I locked myself out, remember?" She said, thinking back to the lie she'd told last night.

"Ya right, nevermind then" He said, turning towards the locker room.

"But Sam?"

"Ya?"

"I'm thinking about going to visit my dad tonight, and Luke's probably still working… So I could maybe use a ride there?"

"Of course, meet you at the truck in five?"

"Ya, thanks" Andy said, heading out towards the parking lot.

_Thank goodness the truck is big. _She thought, scanning the parking lot in case Luke was around, trying to find her to offer another useless apology. _I can hide behind it._


	5. Chapter 5

_AN: I clearly like to take my sweet time updating chapters, so sorry. This one was hard to write, because after the drama in the last two episodes it felt so strange to be writing such a "normal" day. I take no credit for the breakup dialogue as it all belongs to the writers of Rookie Blue. You don't mess with perfection. I hope you like it, and I'll try to update soon! Reviews make me smile. Enjoy!_

* * *

Andy had been hiding out at her dad's during her two days off before he finally busted her while they were having breakfast.

"Hey kiddo, you know I love having you around to keep me company, but don't you have a brand new house that you need to get back to?" Tommy said in his gentlest voice, hoping to garner just a little bit of information of why she'd been sleeping in her childhood room the past couple of nights.

"Luke's away for a couple of days and sometimes that house can get a little freaky at night." Andy said, barely looking up from her cereal.

"And did he take your engagement ring with him for safekeeping?"

Andy nearly dropped her spoon. "What?"

"Since you're not wearing it..." Tommy trailed off.

"Oh ya, right...Well, ummmm, it's getting resized right now" Andy sputtered out.

"Andy, how many years was I a detective for?"

"Right" Andy paused for a second, trying to figure out what she was supposed to tell her dad when she didn't even know what she was telling herself.

"Luke and I are taking a break."

"Really?" He asked, trying to look surprised, but he knew this had been a long time coming. Those two were about as right for each as pickles and peanut butter.

"Well, actually no. We're breaking up. We _broke_ up."

"Did you want to talk about it?"

"No, not even a little bit Dad" she said, staring into her cereal bowl and willing herself no to cry. "It's just a lot to handle right now."

Andy's father looked at his daughter sitting at the kitchen table on the verge of tears and all he wanted to do was punch that little prick detective in the face. There was obviously more to this story.

"Alright sweetheart, I understand"

She looked up.

"You do?"

"Of course, I've had a couple broken hearts in my time you know."

Andy's mind snapped her back to her mother's departure and she immediately felt guilty.

"Dad, I-"

"You're going to be late for work if you don't get going soon sweetheart, so finish that cereal and hop to it."

She stared at her father for a moment, wondering when the roles had switched like this, for so many years she'd been the one taking care of him.

"Thanks Dad."

"For what?"

"Just for being here, I guess.." Andy said, walking into the kitchen.

Tommy McNally stared at his daughter's retreating back, regretting all the moments he'd missed, and wishing that he'd been sober enough to watch his baby girl turn into this strong, beautiful woman.

* * *

After talking to her dad that morning Andy realized that even though she usually wore the ring on a chain around her neck at work, people were eventually going to notice that her and Luke weren't together anymore, so she took a deep breath and dialled his number.

He answered on the first ring.

"Andy, I'm so glad you called, I've been calling you for days. Can we just talk about this plea-" Andy cut him off.

"Could you meet me for coffee before parade this morning?"

" Of course, but Andy parade is in fourty five minutes…"

"I have no intention of making this a long conversation"

"Andy…"

"The cafe right around the corner from the station" she said, then hung up on him.

* * *

Luke was at the cafe in ten minutes flat, he'd been waiting to hear from her for days. He knew that he'd screwed up big-time, but he never thought she would walk out. He was praying that they could still fix this.

Andy walked in ten minutes later, and sat down in front of him without ordering anything.

"Listen, people are going to start to talk so I just wanted to get our story straight…alright? Be clear about what we're saying."

Luke froze with his apology on his tongue; this was not what he was expecting.

"I haven't said anything" he said, "I don't know what we're doing; I'm not entirely sure what happened…"

"Sorry, you're not sure what happened? Well, I can tell you that. We were engaged and then you slept with another woman, you lied about it, you tried to hide it from me and then I found out."

"It's not that simple Andy…" He said, knowing it was a mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. That was exactly what he'd done, and right now he couldn't think of a single reason at all why the hell he'd done it.

"It is simple. The problem with the story is that I don't like it. You made me look like such an idiot… I work with you, I mean, I work with her! I'm not willing to be that girl so, here's what I propose."

If he wasn't currently being blindsided, the darker side of Luke may have chuckled at her use of the word proposed. It was a beginning, and unless he figured out how to fix this, that word was going to end them too.

"Things were moving a little too fast" she continued, "So we're taking some space. Eventually everything's gonna fade away, no one's gonna care anyway. That is what I want. That is the _least_ you can do for me."

He stared at her, waiting for her words to sink in. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, needed to tell her. How it was a mistake, how he never meant to hurt her, how it made him realize that she was the one he wanted to be with forever… But it all sounded so useless after she'd ripped apart their relationship in a single breath.

"I'm sorry," He said, because he really was.

"Ya, so I am" She replied, getting up and walking out of the café, without so much as glancing back.

Luke just sat there for a moment, completely in shock. He never imagined that this would be the fallout from his mistake. Then his watched beeped, and he realized if he didn't get moving he was going to be late for work.

* * *

Only after Andy turned the corner and was out of sight did she allow herself to lean her back against the wall for support. Her knees were shaking and her heart was racing. She hadn't known what she was going to say when she walked in, but seeing his face it all just tumbled out of her mouth. She knew from the moment that she slipped that ring back into its box that they wouldn't be able to fix the relationship, but she was only now just coming to terms with the fact that Mr. Perfect had screwed her over. She breathed in and out, trying to force the anger and the hurt back down, trying to stop the hot tears welling up behind her eyes. She hadn't cried yet, and she refused to start right before she had to walk into work. _In…Out…In…Out…._

"Hey McNally, isn't a little early in your career for you to be lapsing into insanity?"

She opened her eyes.

"Funny Oliver, really funny."

"Thanks, I try." He looked at her for a moment, "You alright rookie?"

"Ya I'm fine, just a little tired."

"Well then McNally, you better focus on getting some more beauty sleep, otherwise you're going to start scaring people away."

Andy smiled in spite of herself.

"You're such a peach Oliver."

"I know. Now c'mon we're already five minutes late" he said, guiding her towards the station " But heck, I guess even if we crawled there we'd still be early by your standards..."


End file.
